Undercooked
by Exigence
Summary: Amethyst gets poofed under strange circumstances and when she reforms, she's full sized! But there's no shortcuts to feeling complete.
1. chapter 1

"Isn't this great?!" Steven cheered, stars in his eyes. He held either side of his face with his hands, the silly grin he was wearing threatening to split his face.

Peridot and Amethyst shared a questioning glance, with Amethyst shrugging. Currently, the shorty squad were trekking through an unexplored ruins that Steven found in first mate Buddy's Journal. Although Pearl had reservations after Steven's begging to go there, Garnet suggested he take Amethyst and oddly enough Peridot with him. He wasn't complaining though. This was the Shorty Squad's first mission since bubbling Jasper. Steven figured it would help them unwind and have fun together.

"What _is_ this place?" Peridot asked aloud, silently observing many of the fixtures scattered on the ground as they walked past. There were crumbled walls that were obviously a part of buildings millenia ago, though they were missing roofs and doors. One could see the "interior" of these buildings from outside. There wasn't really anything noteworthy about it, however, at least to herself and Amethyst.

The purple gem shrugged in response. "I dunno. It was one of those places in that journal that the picture of the palanwhatsit was at. You know, where Blue Diamond kidnapped Greg."

"Blue Diamond was on Earth..?" Peridot asked incredulously.

"Oh, we might have glossed over that detail, huh?" Amethyst shrugged. Peridot shook her head in disbelief.

"Glossing? More like didn't even mention..." Peridot mumbled, a bit put off by Amethyst's nonchalance of a Diamond of all gems.

Amethyst shrugged again, unbothered by the accusation.

The half-Quartz was found orbiting the decayed structures, closely examining tables in flat shapes ranging from diamonds to hexagons and even pentagons.

The group's walk didn't have a specific destination in mind, so the Quartz and Peridot closed in on where Steven was rummaging through what appeared to be cabinets.

Steven pulled random objects from the cabinet and tossed them carelessly behind him, Peridot watching in half interest.

Amethyst laughed at the scene, a hand on her hip. "Where's another of those?" she asked, looking around. "I wanna throw stuff and junk too."

"What fun can be found in throwing things?" Peridot questioned, confusion clear on her face. She picked up one of the recently tossed objects, some cylindrical object that contained engraved trim lines. The whole thing could fit in her palm, and the lines glowed softly. It was active, Peridot could tell, but for what purpose, she couldn't begin to guess.

Amethyst strided over to Steven's side, observing some of the discarded objects. "It doesn't have to make _sense_ , Peri," she explained, picking up something and tossing it before she could even tell what it was. There was a satisfying crash. "It just _is_."

There was a small pause before another crash interrupted it.

"Wow, this _is_ fun," Peridot's voice could be heard behind the two Quartzes.

"So, find anything interesting?" Amethyst asked, peering over Steven's shoulder. Steven was hunched over, rummaging through the cabinet. His eyes lit up in excitement, and he removed a flat rectangular object.

"I think I found a space phone!"

Steven held the object up for Amethyst to see. It did look like a smartphone; in fact, it looked a lot like an earPhone, one of the newer models.

"You sure that's a phone? Why would there be one of those in the middle of ancient ruins?" Amethyst aired her thoughts.

"Because it's not a _normal_ phone," Steven retorted in mock frustration, causing Amethyst to snort. "It"s a _space_ phone."

"Homeworld doesn't have "Space Phones"," Peridot stated, needlessly making air quotes. "May I see that?" she asked, nearing the duo. Steven acquiesced, handing it over to her.

"Hmm..." Peridot turned the object over in her hands repeatedly, staring hard at the device. Steven and even Amethyst were awed into silence at the intense focus she was displaying.

"This is old," Peridot observed aloud, for the two Quartz' benefit. "I've never handled Gem technology this ancient, but it seems to me like an Interface of some sort."

Steven and Amethyst looked at her, blank faced, as if expecting her to continue.

"What?" she asked, oblivious.

"So it _is_ a space phone?" the purple gem asked what Steven was thinking.

Peridot frowned lightly, realizing her analysis went right over their heads.

"It opens something..." she sighed. Her two companions' eyes widened in realization, uttering a long "Ohhh."

"It's a space key..." Steven declared, completely serious. Peridot rolled her eyes.

"We should find what the heck this thing opens!" Amethyst declared, more out of boredom really, then an actual sense of adventure, but it was worth it to see the eagerness on Steven's face, and even the interested curiosity on Peridot's face.

So the three began to search. Ground was being covered more quickly now that there was a specific goal in mind. Peridot was the first try and see if she could turn on the oddly phone-shaped device, for obvious reasons, while Steven and Amethyst would look for anything that resembled a locked door.

They passed the ruins they were just exploring, which favored the aesthetic of a residential home, to structures that looked more sterile and laboratory-esque.

"Oohh, heheh..." Peridot cooed, briefly looking up from the item in her hands. "This place looks _much_ more interesting," she compared, thinking back to the earlier ruins they wandered around in.

"It _does_ look nerd-ier here," Amethyst observed dryly, snickering when Peridot gave her an oblivious glance. Steven half-smiled at their usual antics. He could agree that the structures looked less like ruins here, and more like an abandoned set of buildings. The walls ahead of him seemed metallic as opposed to the stone ruins from before.

That meant there had to be an automated door here somewhere.

"C'mon, guys!" he beckoned, waving his hand towards himself then breaking into a jog. Amethyst and Peridot wasted no time following suit, but the green gem was distracted by the sudden vibration of the interface in her hands.

"Huh?" Peridot brought the device closer to her face, noticing the screen was now lit and running some sort of diagnostic.

Peridot resumed running after the others, a bad feeling weighing on her. "A simple door shouldn't need such a complex diagnostic..."

Her observation was accompanied by the ground beneath her rumbling violently, temporarily scrambling her thoughts. Steven and Amethyst must have felt it too, as they had stopped moving, allowing Peridot to catch up with them.

"What in the stars-" the tremor returned and everyone stumbled. "Was that?" she finished, holding the interface tight in one hand.

"It feels like it's coming from over here somewhere," Amethyst supplied, walking towards the closest structures. This area looked even more maintained than the labs they were poking around in.

The object in Peridot's hand began to vibrate a bit, startling the green gem.

"Guys, I think we should come back with Garnet and Pearl," she suggested, the bad feeling not having went away.

"I'm sure it's nothing!" Amethyst assured. The ground shook again, this time accompanied by what sounded like a muffled roar. All three gems hesitated at the new noise.

"I have to agree with Peridot, Amethyst... I don't think this is a good idea," Steven tried to explain.

"Ugh, you too?" Amethyst groaned. "It's just a little earthquake!" she said, hands on her hips. Peridot and Steven still looked unsure.

Amethyst sucked her teeth. She could protect them just fine! She'd show them. They didn't need Garnet or Pearl. She frowned, beginning to run towards the new building and hopefully the source of the tremors.

"Amethyst! Wait!" the other two party members yelled in unison.

"Why is she running _towards_ the building and not back to the warp pad?!"

Steven's face fell at Peridot's question. "I- I don't know," Steven answered, running after the Quartz with Peridot.

\--

Amethyst reached the door to the building, her whip already drawn. Correctly assuming the entrance would be jammed, she cracked her whip, slicing an X into it, and shoulder tackling into the building.

She knew she was being petty in response to Steven and Peridot's concerns. But she was a Quartz soldier! They should be able to rely on just her on this mission and not need backup. If she had just came out right-

"No," Amethyst stopped her train of thought right there. She was over this. Jasper was bubbled, and she was right here. She could handle this, no matter what size she happened to be. She broke into a run, deeper into the facility. Not because she was in a rush to find what was causing the earthquakes, but more so to keep distance from the other two. She acted out of line, and she really didn't need to be confronted about it right now.

She realized that the farther in she ran, the building looked _newer_ somehow. Lights were still on in the hallway, and power lines ran across the walls on both sides, reminding her of that space phone. Maybe she was close. It'd probably be some old gem tech, and she'd shut it down, and she'd tell them they had nothing to worry about.

The muffled roar sounded again. Was it a gem monster? She could handle that no problem!

The tremors seemed to be coming from a nearby area now, and she turned a corner. She thought she could hear Peridot and Steven's voices, but she ignored them.

"That's a big door..."

Just a bit farther down the new hallway was an extremely large door, one that even a Diamond could fit through with ease.The doors front resembled the space phone, with the "screen" being a gem destabilizer field. It crackled if she stood near, and briefly she wondered how the place still seemed to have power.

Another tremor, the quakes higher in magnitude, nearly managed to knock her off her feet, but she stood her ground. "Ok, what is causing all that?"

Nearing the barrier as closely as she dared, she peered through the yellow energy field, but couldn't spot anything. Whatever it was, monster or machine, it was going down!

Hefting her whip in her right arm, she scanned along the wall and saw a console mounted on the surface. It looked like those elevator buttons on the Human Zoo. She didn't know the input commands. Besides, she was doing this _her_ way.

The whip collided with the console in a shower of sparks, bits of the screen hitting the floor like broken glass.

The yellow field fizzled out like a broken TV.


	2. Chapter 2

Amethyst glanced around the room, able to walk freely inside, now that the field was gone. The space was quite well lit, as if it wasn't abandoned and that it could have been occupied as recently as several hours ago. For some reason, the thought made her uncomfortable.

Swallowing, she stepped passed the door's threshold, hefting her whip at her side, it's familiar weight assuring her.

"Hello, anybody here?" she called out. She doubted anyone still occupied the place...at least not anyone with all their senses, she thought recalling the monster-like roaring.

As she walked farther in, she noticed much of the machinery inside the room was frosted over. Gazing upward, stalagmites of ice trailed downard from the ceiling as if raindrops fell and froze mid flight.

"Looks like somebody forgot to turn off the A/C," Amethyst laughed nervously. The ground decided to shake again, but no roar this time. That little detail seemed to make the situation even more unsettling. Although the lights were lit and no dust could be seen anywhere, it was deathly quiet. No whirring of machines, nothing.

Amethyst tightened her grip.

Being a gem, it wasn't too hard to ignore the change in temperature, bit even she found it weird that snow began to fall...indoors.

"Maaan..." Amethyst groaned in anmoyance, hoping to quickly find whatever the disturbance was.

"Amethyst!"

The purple gem started at the sound of her name being called. She'd almost forgotten the two followed her down here. But it was too late for her to backtrack now, in her mind.

Forcefully ignoring the snow, the calls, the temperature - Geez, why was it so cold in here?!

Amethyst realized she had broke into a jog and forced herself to slow back down to a walk. Besides, she heard something.

Footsteps. And not just footsteps because Steven and Peridot were down there too; it sounded like something _big_ was moving around somewhere. Definitely a corrupted gem.

"Hey, monster! Come out here and fight me!" she challenged. It was a pretty safe assumption that the beast didn't even understand what she was saying, but maybe it'd get agitated at the constant yelling.

"Huh. Guess it-" Amethyst was cut off by a torrent of snow that had enough force to rival a tidal wave. Because of the cluttered interior, she had collided with one of the deactivated machines rather than a wall. The defunct device had a flat vertical surface, fortunately sparing her from any extensive injury.

At some point when she got hit by the indoor avalanche, she lost her grip on her weapon, quickly materializing a new one. The footsteps were resounding now, made noisier by the snow that was now blanketing the whole room.

Tucking into herself, Amethyst burst out of the snow like a comet, her hair ablaze. Some of the snow melted in response to the extreme heat, affording her a small space to move around in.

Scanning the area, she watched the snow for just the slightest movement.

There!

"Gotcha!" she shouted, channeling violet flames into her whip. It cracked towards where she was looking, a small movement as if something was shuffling through it. The flames blasted outwards from the whip, melting even more of the snow.

A pained roar, louder than all of the ones previous, rang out, suprising her with how close the beast actually was to her. A large shape burst from the sea of snow. It's single eye, positioned at the center of it's feline-like face glaring at her as if offended. It's tail flared, and it was evident it was thick with illusiory muscle. At the tail's tip was what looked like a shard of ice. The rest of it's body was clothed in a snow tinted fur, giving an aesthetic of snow tipped hair.

Amethyst sniffed, readying her swinging arm again. Once she took down this gem monster, Peridot and Steven would _have_ to be impressed by that, wouldn't they? She smirked mischievously.

The feline growled threateningly, it's back tensing up, it's frame ready to pounce, like an angry and irritated mutant cat.

It's speed was a blur. Amethyst knew it's tail was serious business, as it was about twice the width of her arm. Leaping sideways, she evaded the surprisingly fast swing of the Snow Leopard - she thought it was a fitting name - it's tail missing her by just a hair's length. She could feel the push of the wind as it's prehensile limb cleaved through the air.

"Yeesh, stayin' away from that thing!" she declared, swinging her whip in a wide arc. Her eyes widened though, when the beast lowered itself deliberately, and leapt to the left, not only remaining clear of her initial swing, but her second one as well, well before she even had the chance to telegraph her attack.

"What the heck, yo?!" she called out, frustrated. Not letting up, the gem monster charged at her, juking sideways well in advance of her vertical swing. The Snow Leopard collided headfirst with her, just missing her gem. Flying backwards from the surprising force, Amethyst staggered to her feet.

The Quartz began to wonder if she was fighting a corrupted Sapphire. The gem monster was evading her attacks as if she might as well been moving at a snail's pace.

"Amethyst! Wait!"

Amethyst glanced behind her to spot Steven and Peridot attempting to trudge through the thick snow that lie between the room's entrance and the impromptu arena.

The gem monster growled threateningly, it's back arched upward. Amethyst exhaled forcefully. Even if the other two could make it over to her, the leopard wasn't going to wait around.

That feeling of hopelessness began to creep up on her again. And with it was a sensation she was all too familiar with. Frustration and anger was bubbling just below the surface. She had one plan left. She took one step back, then charged forward straight at the gem monster. It managed to evade as she suspected it would, but she had a plan in mind. The moment it dodged, Amethyst tucked into herself, changing trajectory almost instantly, ramming into the gem feline with the force of a speeding vehicle.

The monster let out a surprised whine, landing bodily several meters away.

Peridot and Steven were nearly there now, having made it through the thickest of the snow. The teen wasn't sure why Amethyst was fighting so ferociously. Any other time, he'd be impressed, but he was worried she was acting the way she did when confronted with Jasper the first few times, like she had something to prove.

It seemed although, that Amethyst had the upper hand. She managed to knock the gem monster off it's feet, but he prepared his shield just in case. Peridot stood next to Steven, spectating the battle along with him.

"Is Amethyst going to be okay?" Steven asked the certified Kindergardener, concern visible on his face.

"Well, she's holding up well, all things considered," she replied. "I think that gem monster is a Sapphire," she said by way of explanation.

"A sapphire?" Steven furrowed a brow. "You don't think that gem has future vision, do you?"

Peridot could only shrug.

A resounding crash wrenched their attention back to the fight, only to see the monster blasting what could only be described as a wave of cold at the purple Quartz.

Steven abd Peridot gasped. Amethyst was totally unprepared, the wave of cold so large, that it enveloped Amethyst's form.

Acting on instinct, Steven flung his shield with as much force as possible. "Boomerang Shield!" he cried, the sound cutting short the monster's offense, as distracting as it was. The shield collided with the beast's face, hitting it so hard it corkscrewed in the air. But it wasn't enough to disrupt it's form. It scrambled back to it's feet, only for a large support beam dropped from the ceiling to land roughly on it. For a second it stood still, and then it's body exploded into particles, a small sapphire gemstone with a side consisting of jagged edges. Apparently the tip of the beast's tail was it's gem.

Steven looked appreciatively at Peridot for the save.

"That's not good," Peridot muttered, walking in the direction of the poofed gem. Peridot bubbled it after a pause, and Steven realized what she was talking about.

"Oh no..." Steven uttered. He rushed over to the second gemstone lying across from the bubbled Sapphire where the gem monster's final attack hit. Scattered sheets of ice surrounded the area, and frost was stuck even to Amethyst's inert gemstone.

Panicking, Steven rushed to retrieve it, only to recoil in pain at the sheer _cold_ emanating from the stone. At this point, Amethyst would have reformed by now. He knew objects tended to break if they froze over, leaving him full of anxiety at the state of Amethyst's gem. Hurriedly, he bubbled it, his hands being chilled even through the transparent film of the bubble. The observation made him worry even more.

Peridot tapped the bubble of the Sapphire, and it was whisked away.

"Will Amethyst be okay?" Steven queried, observing their bubbled friend as best he could. The frost covered most of the gem, making it look almost lifeless. "Do gems get hurt if their gems get frozen?"

Peridot didn't know the answer for certain. "Well, in theory, no. But it's probably best we get back to the temple," she suggested. Steven nodded, forlorn.


	3. Chapter 3

The trip back to the temple was quick. Being a Quartz, Amethyst was expected to reform quickly, but the frost from the corrupted gem was still plastered on the surface of her stone. The ice had yet to melt, as cold as it was, spikes of frozen water hanging from it like icicles.

"I hope Amethyst will be okay..." Steven ventured, having to favor either hand ocasionally. The gem was still freezing cold even through the bubble. They had let the gem sit on the ground at first, trying to melt the ice. They tried sitting in front of heat sources in the lab, but to no avail. Steven even resorted to using his shield to chip the edges and using his healing spit.

The ice may as well been made of titanium. The icicles wouldn't break under the pressure and the gem only glowed for an instant in response to the spit; the ice was still there, clinging stubbornly to the seemingly inert gem.

"Steven!" Peridot patted Steven on the shoulder, if not a bit awkwardly. She was still getting used to comforting gestures. "Don't worry, we should be fine as long as the gem's intact. I'm sure all of us will figure something out," she assured. Steven's expression became more serious and he nodded once. They continued up the steps, the large temple statue looking down at them, hands open as if in welcome.

"Right," Steven said loud enough for the both of them to hear. Nonetheless, he swallowed, hoping for the best.

Garnet and Pearl had been seated on the couch when Peridot and Steven entered, the seated gems smiling in greeting.

"How did it g-" Pearl paused, having taken note of the bubble in Steven's hands. "What happened?" she breathed, rushing over to them.

"There was a corrupted gem..." Steven ventured, but hesitated.

"It got Amethyst," Peridot finished for him, her fingers pressed together. "We didn't know what to do...and the ice wasn't melting at all outside the bubble."

"Ice?" Pearl asked. The gems experienced all sorts of strange phenomenon, but ice that never melted wasn't one of them. Garnet made her way over to where the trio stood, Steven still holding the bubble gingerly.

"Oh..." Pearl frowned, hand over mouth in thought. "I've never seen this before...Garnet?" she turned to the stoic fusion, brows knitted in worry. Garnet had a pensive expression, but it was hard to tell with her visor resting on her face.

"You can unbubble her, Steven," Garnet suggested after an uncomfortable pause. Steven neared her, bubble in hand. He allowed the bubble to burst, Amethyst's gem landing uncerimoniously into Garnet's waiting palm.

For several lengthy seconds, Garnet held Amethyst's gem in her hand containing the Ruby in her palm, the cold apparently not affecting the fusion. Steven looked on in wonder.

"Hmm," Garnet hummed in thought.

"Can you fix her?" the young boy asked anxiously. The silence dragged on once again, Garnet staring down at the gem in her hand.

A frown was on the her face. Barely noticeable, but it was there.

"I have no idea how to fix this..."

Steven's face fell while Pearl and Peridot both winced at the bluntness of her statement.

"That's horrible!" Steven blurted. "She's going to be an icicle for the rest of her life!"

Garnet pursed her lips in thought and switched Amethyst to her other hand. "I'll see what I can-,"

She reached her free hand towards Steven to reassure him, but a shock ran through her arm then to her whole body. She had grit her teeth, but her face remained otherwise impassive, her body seeming to shudder. She vaguely registered Pearl calling out her name. She looked back down at Amethyst's gemstone, then to the group, who were now watching her, concerned.

"Garnet, are you all right?! Her gem..."

Garnet waved off Pearl's concern. "I'm fine."

"What happened?"

This ice, it's from a Sapphire," she exhaled, studying the stone.

"That was a Sapphire?!" Steven rubbed his forehead in confusion. "What was it doing in a lab?"

Garnet stiffened at the mention of a lab.

"We'll investigate that later," Garnet stood up, effectively changing the subject. "For now, I know what to do to get rid of the ice."

"Told you," Peridot directed at Steven, elbowing him as if privvy to an inside joke.

"I just have to dispel the ice..." Garnet announced distractedly, focusing on the hand holding Amethyst, the palm embedded with a sapphire.

The whole process was actually anticlimactic. The ice began to slowly recede as if drawing in on itself, retreating until only a large patch of ice was left caking the side of Amethyst's gem. And then that had begun to dematerialize into specks of light, scattering like spots that would dance along the edge of a person's vision after blinking repeatedly.

Almost immediately, the gem began to hover in the air.

"She definitely doesn't waste any time," Peridot said shortly.

Amethyst's form began to pour out of her gem. It kept growing though, well past her usual size, alarming Pearl.

"Oh no, she's not overexerting again, is she?" Pearl wrung her hands in worry. Nobody answered her, as they were unsure themselves. Steven hoped that wasn't the case. He thought she'd gotten over Jasper's mind games. Maybe she was still harboring...wait...

"Uh, guys," Steven called. Amethyst's form was bathed in white light still, but this didn't seem like that time with the Slinker. In fact, her form was symmetrical even. No oversized arm, or hand or foot that was too big. It vaguely reminded him of Jasper's imposing stature. Steven blinked.

The blinding light finally began to recede, and Amethyst shook her wild mane of hair, as if she were a cat and fell into a bathtub. Everyone was struck speechless, although Amethyst had yet to notice. She blinked confusedly, realizing she was no longer in the lab.

"Wha...Where'd that Snow Leopard go?" She flinched, raising an arm as if to summon her whip. Belatedly, she spotted the others. "Guess I must've gotten poofed..."

"What happened to the corrupted gem?" she asked, turning to Steven.

He couldn't answer as he was busy picking his jaw up from the floor.

She raised a brow, perturbed by his dumbfounded expression. "Why's everybody looking at me like that?"

This wasn't like that time she cracked her gem, was it? Did she mess up her regeneration? It wasn't helping that _all_ of them wore expressions of shock. Even Garnet was visibly surprised, her mouth in the shape of an "o".

"Hey, why is almost everyone so short?"

Amethyst now had to look down to properly see everyone, Garnet included, although for the fusion, she was only about half a head taller than her.

Surprisingly, Pearl seemed to somewhat recover before Garnet did and attempted to speak.

"You...look, uh, different," she managed, seemingly aware of her awkward statement, waving her hand towards her to illustrate her point. Steven and Peridot nodded in agreement.

Amethyst looked down at herself, visibly flinching.

"Woah!" she studied her arms, legs, and torso, wiggling her fingers or moving her arms about. Everything indeed looked different. Her arms and legs were no longer short and her height no longer stout. Her arms and legs were firm with illusiory muscle. Even feeling around her hair revealed it to be more unruly than she usually kept it.

"What the heck is this?" Amethyst grunted, lifting one leg, apparently trying to see the bottom of her new boots. Her whole ensemble had changed upon reforming. Her casual clothing she wore was now replaced by a jumpsuit, not dissimilar from the uniforms worn by the Amethysts and Jaspers on Pink Diamond's Zoo.

"Haha, sweet," Amethyst commented.

"I guess Garnet isn't the tallest anymore," Steven stated good naturedly. Garnet ruffled his hair in response.

"You're not...shapeshifting, are you?" Pearl ventured, and the atmosphere gained a tense awkwardness. Amethyst's new form looked different from when she disguised herself as a full sized Quartz on the Zoo. Something about it looked genuine, for lack of a better word.

Amethyst stopped flexing her arm to consider Pearl's question. "I dunno, let me try to shift back to normal," she said, and a bright light enveloped her. Once it was gone, she was back to her usual size and clothing.

Amethyst laughed, placing her arms behind her head. "Well, guess it was just a flu-"

Her form was encased in light again, and she reverted back to the jumpsuit and imposing height.

"ke...Huh?" Amethyst looked puzzled, her arms still resting behind her head. "That felt weird. Like I was holding a form. The moment, I stopped thinking about it..." Amethyst snapped her fingers.

"Perhaps this is her new form," Garnet finally spoke up, motioning her hand to Amethyst. "Peridot?"

The green gem was surprised by the sudden attention. "Huh? How would I know?"

"You _are_ a kindergardener."

Peridot knew a challenge when she heard it. She grumbled to herself for willingly taking the bait. She stepped over to Amethyst.

"May I see your arm?"

Amethyst silently offered her hand, and Peridot held it, examining her palm, wrist, or forearm.

"Hmm," Peridot mumbled. Everything looks normal to me. Usually, when shapeshifting, depending on if you increase or decrease your size, there would be a proportional change in mass, usually the joint areas." She turned to Garnet. "Everything looks evenly spaced out."

"That makes sense," Pearl commented, nodding.

"Am I the only one that didn't understand a word of that?" Steven shrugged, smiling apologetically at Peridot's unamused face.

"I didn't get it either, Ste-Man," Amethyst added. "English, Peri?"

"It means, _Amethyst,"_ Peridot grumbled, "Since you're bigger now, if you were shapeshifting right now, there'd be less mass in your joints."

"Thanks, P-dot!"

"Nyeh."

Garnet smiled at the exchange. "Peridot, let's hear your theory."

"How'd you know I had a..." the little gem paused and facepalmed. "Nevermind."

"I have reason to believe that Amethyst's physical form has been reset."

"You can do that?" Steven asked aloud.

"Well, it's only a theory. It's never actually been done before."

"Guess you graduated from the shorty squad, huh, Amethyst?" The now tallest gem winced at the statement.

"What?!" Amethyst blurted. "I can't leave the shorty squad!"

"Wha...Amethyst, it was just a figure of speech," Steven assured, surprised by her outburst.

Amethyst rubbed her neck at the confused stares the rest of the group gave her.

"Heh...Sorry."

Garnet clapped her hands once, gathering everyone's attention. "I think we should head to the Sky Arena. Let's test your powers."


End file.
